Beady curtains covered my bedroom
- Poetry of Li Shangyin

《重帏深下莫愁堂》

English Rendering

Beady curtains covered my bedroom,

lied in bed,nothing i did but yearned you.

It turned out encountering you is just a dream,

i'm just a damsel like the lonely dew on the tulip.


Wind blew my secret garden hurriedly,

the more tragedy i had,the more sweetness i felt.

I knew it's empty to think of your beauty badly,

but that's how i could catch the fragrance of you heavenly love.

Beady curtains covered my bedroom by Li Shangyin
Beady curtains covered my bedroom by Li Shangyin

Original Text (中文原文)

重帏深下莫愁堂,卧后清宵细细长。

神女生涯原是梦,小姑居处本无郎。

风波不信菱枝弱,月露谁教桂叶香。

直道相思了无益,未妨惆怅是清狂。

Analysis & Context

By Li Shangyin

Reader's Companion

The Essence of the Verse

Classical Chinese poetry thrives on Concision and Ambiguity. Without tense or number, the words create a timeless space where the reader becomes the co-creator of the poem's meaning.

Reading Between the Lines

Look for Contrasts: light and shadow, movement and stillness. Don't just translate the words; feel the Yijing (artistic conception) that lingers long after the last character.

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